Some
experts say killing coyotes has never worked, as their numbers just
bound back. (Post file photo)

Front Range coyote populations are adapting to urban environments,
resulting in increased numbers of clashes between humans and wild
canines and a push by wildlife managers to resolve the conflict without
killing the animals.

Federal records show more than 3,500 coyote-incident reports have been
logged in the metro area since 2003. Most were mere sightings, but the
records also show about 400 coyote attacks on pets and 21 attacks on
people.

"Coyotes' goal is to carve out a place where they can make a living and
reproduce," said Stewart Breck, a biologist at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins. "Just
by the sheer number of large cities that now have coyotes, they are
very successful."

At least 31 coyotes have been euthanized by state and contract
sharpshooters in the Denver area over the past 20 months, even as some
experts warn that killing coyotes has never worked.

Denver parks staffers and volunteers have led the new approach by
patrolling urban greenbelts and open spaces while banging pots and pans
and blowing whistles.

Test public thinking

Colorado cities' efforts stand out as one of the more innovative
responses as coyote populations have grown in cities including New
York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Breck is coordinating the work with city and state wildlife managers.

First step: sending out surveys to test public thinking. After that,
Breck, whose previous work involved bears and wolves, said researchers
will investigate coyotes' urban adaptations.

The challenge is big. Coyotes in cities howl in response to sirens,
occasionally scavenge garbage and look at unleashed dogs as intruders
on their turf.

They are proving adept, adjusting their hunting in cities so that "they
are most active when people are least active," Breck said.

But the emerging generation of coyotes bred and raised in cities still
retains pack-hunting ways. "Certainly, they know the old language," he
said. "They are still coyotes."

The challenge with hazing is that after a few weeks, urban coyotes
begin to ignore flashing lights and sounds, he said, forcing residents
to come up with new hazing methods.

Colorado Division of Wildlife officers have euthanized 21 coyotes since
December 2008, most recently on North Table Mountain in Golden in April
after a man was bitten by a coyote while walking his dog, agency
spokesman Jerry Neal said.

But state officials too are leaning toward nonlethal options.

"The Division of Wildlife will remove coyotes only when they have
attacked or caused injuries to people," Neal said. "The Division of
Wildlife does not remove coyotes for conflicts involving pets."

Greenwood Village Police and a contractor have killed 10 other coyotes
since March 2009, said Ryan Gregory, assistant to the city manager.
Police also devoted 565 hours this past year to trying to haze coyotes,
including using paint-ball guns.

"They haven't had much success actually hitting the coyotes," Gregory
said, "so we are certainly not relying on that."

Response team
created

Many residents and coyote advocates see killing as counterproductive.

"Sure, you will have an initial decline (in coyote populations), but
they will come back stronger," said Nicole Rosmarino, wildlife program
director for WildEarth Guardians, a conservation group.

The U.S. government between 1915 and 1947 paid more than $1.8 million
in $1 bounties for dead coyotes. Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture
officials estimate coyote populations are as high as ever.

In Centennial, about 25 volunteers and city staffers have created a
team that responds to scenes of attacks on pet cats and dogs. They
erect warning signs, advising residents to keep pets indoors, and
distribute whistles. A city official also makes phone calls to bereaved
pet owners, consoling them and offering insights on coyote behavior.

Coexistence advocates increasingly suggest that cats and dogs be let
outdoors only on leashes — an adjustment aimed at restricting
coyote feeding to foxes, raccoons and small vermin.

Some veterinarians handling injured pets question whether hazing will
work in the long term.

The coyotes "are getting bolder," said David Specht, who has treated
dogs and cats attacked by coyotes in the south metro area. Formerly a
federal wildlife officer working with alligators in Florida, Specht
sees greenbelts as the essential pathways enabling coyotes to move into
cities.

A decade ago here, "we didn't see these kinds of altercations," Specht
said this week after hearing from a client whose cat had just been
killed by a coyote. "Bottom line, you're dealing with a predator. Once
they attack a pet, it's more than likely that it is going to escalate
to the point that there's no fear of people anymore."

Front Range cities need a new alternative — non-lethal
removal of coyotes that become problems for people, said dog owner Pam
Giesler, 60.

While she was walking her 10-pound Yorkshire Terrier, Jasmine, last
year on a leash at a Lakewood apartment complex, three coyotes darted
from behind parked cars and attacked, Giesler said. The coyotes
snatched Jasmine and dragged her away. She fought back and returned to
Giesler, bloody.

Then, as the coyotes returned, an employee inside a fitness center
pulled Giesler and the dog indoors.

"The coyotes circled the fitness center for awhile," Giesler said.
"What frightens me is, my daughter lives in that complex with two small
children. When coyotes start coming after people and dogs, it's
dangerous. I'm always wary now. My eyes are open at all times. It's not
pleasant."

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com

10/01/2010
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